Going Public in Bear Market Is Risky Bet for Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone, the popular language-learning software maker, holds its initial public stock offering today—a risky move in a bear market, Jennifer Collins reports for Marketplace. Rosetta Stone’s profit has quadrupled since 2007, but it could make twice as much by waiting. It’s possible Rosetta needs cash now, which would be an acceptable reason for the dubious timing.

Rosetta hopes to raise $50 million, but may suffer collateral damage from market jitters that don’t accurately reflect its strength as a business, analysts say. Others point to a possible advantage: If Rosetta raises a lot of cash now, it can buy competitors who will be much more expensive when the stock market turns—making it the industry’s top dog for years. (More Rosetta Stone stories.)